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"Chinese wear cloth shoes, and whenever it rains, their shoes are instantly soaked with rain...... If we sell shoes here, we're going to make a fortune! ”

Sometimes life choices are really very strange, for Thomas, a shoemaker from Massachusetts, when he saw this report in the newspaper more than ten years ago, he took this news to heart, as a shoemaker, he could not have come to China at all, but last year, when he inherited a fortune of $45,000 from a distant uncle, the news in the newspaper more than ten years ago affected him, so he made a choice - to buy a shoe-making machine to come to China.

When he ambitiously tried to set up factories in the Shanghai concession to sell "durable, sturdy" leather shoes to the Chinese, he had to face the fact that the Chinese had no interest in leather shoes at all, and even he and his shoe factory became a joke.

"Only stupid Americans would do these things!"

In the Shanghai Concession, there was a rumor of Thomas's stupidity, and for Thomas, he agreed to realize his stupidity - his factory was aborted before it could be opened.

Now what?

For Thomas, he had tried to sell the machines and sewing machines he had brought from the United States specifically for the production of leather shoes, but these machines had undoubtedly become a pile of scrap metal in Shanghai - no one needed them at all, and in the whole world, only the United States used machines to make shoes, and in Europe still used handmade shoes. As for China, who will need these shoe-making machines?

Just when Thomas was desperate and almost bankrupt, he was approached by a Chinese comprador who had opened a bank, and he was willing to buy his machine for a "high price" of 30,000 silver dollars, despite the loss of almost 10,000 yuan. But it saved him from the brink of bankruptcy. However, according to the contract, in addition to buying the machine, he had to work for it for an additional three years, teaching the Chinese workers how to use the machine and make leather shoes.

Of course, Thomas did not refuse, and it is precisely because of this that he came to Wuchang two months ago, that is, after coming here, he fell into regret and self-blame.

"Why didn't you think of it in the first place?"

The reason why he blamed himself in this way was entirely because here he found a market that he had neglected - the military market. Because now his factory has become a munitions factory for the rebels, specializing in the production of military boots, and even sewing machines are used to sew military uniforms.

Maybe the Chinese don't need military boots, but for the military with Western-style training, they naturally need military boots. If you had seen the market at the time, how could you have gone bankrupt?

But to frustration, now, as a technician in the Rebel Army's military factory, Thomas is dutifully fulfilling the contract, teaching the workers in the factory the craft of shoemaking on the one hand, and teaching them to use machines on the other.

“…… When sewing the sole of the boot, it should be sewn with 5# wax thread, and the suture of the sole of the boot should be pressed out of the groove with a rolling machine to protect the wax thread and reduce wear, and the best wax thread on the sole of the boot is to use sisal thread, which is more wear-resistant than cotton thread, but many factories often use cotton thread in order to reduce costs, and this inverts the boots are not durable enough......"

In the factory, Thomas teaches a dozen workers who are being trained to make shoes, teaching them how to distinguish between cowhide and sheepskin, and choosing the right leather for the right place, although Thomas is a traditional shoemaker, he is used to making shoes and boots by machine.

Now the factory needs to produce 300 pairs of boots a day, which is more than the factory can handle, but there is no problem with that, because the Grand Governor has designed a simplified type of boot. Compared with European-style high barrel boots, the boot body of this kind of boot is half shorter, and the use of lace-ups, and even the surface of the boot body is not treated, and the suede fabric seems to be a little shoddy, but in fact, Thomas, as a shoemaker, knows very well that this kind of boot is extremely durable, not only because of its material, but also because of its design. So much so that Thomas, as a shoemaker, even secretly admired the designer of these boots, that is, the Grand Duke.

"Da, da......"

The copper nails on the soles of the boots stepped on the bluestone slab, and the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar, for Wang Fu, he had never felt comfortable since wearing these shoes.

"Governor, these boots are inevitably too heavy, I look at the inside of this mansion, since those guards wear these boots, they have never been quiet, and they are not comfortable to wear......"

Again, Wang Fu tried to ask, the boots didn't make a loud walk, and they were still very heavy.

"Heavy? Under the weather? ”

Zhu Yifeng raised his head and looked at the yellow leather boots of Wang Fu's feet, the shape of this leather boots is similar to the military boots of later generations, but it is limited by the times, and its raw materials are more characteristic of the times, using cowhide surface and cowhide bottom, the biggest feature is that its bottom is made of 32 copper cleats and horseshoe hind feet, and the boot root is directly made of 7 layers of cowhide nails. And in order to enhance the water resistance of military shoes, it uses a suede upper. It is precisely because of this that it will appear a little bulky, of course, the design of it does not pay attention to lightness, in fact, Zhu Yifeng designed it only to pursue durability, non-slip and other performance. Because durable shoes reduce the logistical strain on the military.

"Marching and fighting, it is also uncomfortable, these boots are combat effectiveness, a pair of durable military shoes, sometimes even more important than a rifle! After all, soldiers have to march on their feet to fight! ”

Zhu Yifeng responded unceremoniously, maybe other people can't realize the importance of military shoes, but a lot of information in later generations tells him that military shoes are one of the most important military supplies to some extent, in this era of marching on foot, long-distance marching makes the wear rate of boots quite alarming, many soldiers have to march barefoot to fight after the only pair of military boots are worn, and then their feet are often punctured, ten years later in the United States, General Hill in the South got the news that a large number of military boots of the Northern Army were stored in warehouses in the town of Gettysburg, Then the idea of robbery was triggered. He then ordered his troops to enter the town to grab boots, but Hill did not get what he needed, and what awaited him was bullets fired from two cavalry brigades of the Northern Army. As forces from both sides continued to gather in the Gettysburg area, what began as a skirmish for the shoe eventually turned into a brutal large-scale battle. This is known as the Battle of Gettysburg.

Who would have thought that it was the boots that turned this great battle that decided the fate of the North and the South? If Hill hadn't grabbed shoes at the time, in what direction would history have got? Although he didn't know where history would go, it at least told him one thing - military shoes are very important.

Moreover, Bismarck once said that "the appearance of the boots of the army and the sound of the footsteps of the march are the powerful weapons of the army." ”

"A pair of durable boots is better than a dozen pairs of cloth shoes, and besides, isn't there cloth shoes in this army! You can wear it alternately! ”

Seeing that Wang Fu seemed puzzled, Zhu Yifeng stood up, he was also wearing the same leather boots on his feet, compared to the rubber-soled military boots that he was used to in later generations, this kind of high-waisted riding boots with hard cowhide soles was indeed not very comfortable to wear, but he had to get used to it.

"Now, the reason why everyone is required to wear it is because we have to be an example for the soldiers, and if we don't wear leather boots, then the soldiers will definitely wear cloth shoes, straw sandals, ......."

People are always like this, habits are always difficult to change, just as they are used to wearing cloth shoes, even straw sandals, but Zhu Yifeng can't accept that the first thing his soldiers do after a long march is not to rest, but to play straw shoes there for the next day's march.

Of course, a more important point is that for Zhu Yifeng, who wants to train a modern army, he needs the army to reach the level of modernization in all aspects, and the standard standard military shoes are the same as military uniforms, which is the best difference between soldiers and civilians.

"Governor, you see, you're just talking casually......"

The words of the Grand Governor made Wang Fu quickly change his words.

"However, although these riding boots are uncomfortable to wear, they are indeed quite imposing,"

Unlike ordinary soldiers, officers often wear high-waisted riding boots, this is because of the relationship between horseback riding, Zhu Yifeng just smiled slightly in his heart about Wang Fu's transformation, and then said casually.

"Eunuch Ting, you are the elder of my righteous army, and naturally you also know that our righteous army is different from the Qing army, and it is also different from any army in the past, and it will only become more and more standardized in the future.

"Yes!"

In the face of the instructions of the Grand Governor, Wang Fu dared to slack off in the slightest, if it was said that a few months ago, he was only forced to submit to the Grand Governor due to the situation, then now, he has already completely lost the slightest compulsion at the beginning.

When Wang Fu left the lobby, looking at Wang Fu's background, Zhu Yifeng once again thought of the scene when he was ambushed in Huangzhou, compared to Liu Jian and Li Yuanji, Wang Fu's decisiveness was far better than them, however, such a person is a double-edged sword, he could cut off Chen Shuyang's head yesterday, and he will be able to sell himself in the future if he can't keep it.

It is precisely because there are some people around him that Zhu Yifeng never dares to relax at all. But now, looking at Wang Fu's background, he knows that now this person is afraid that he has integrated into this group, and maybe he still has a little dissent, but in his heart, he may have identified with this group and identified with himself as the governor. Many times, people are always like this, they are forced at first, and then they will slowly get used to it, and then completely integrate into it.

Thinking of Wang Fu's transformation, Zhu Yifeng naturally thought of the other two people.

"I just don't know, how are those two now?" (To be continued.) )